Last week, in her Fresh Hell Substack, Tina Brown let the cat out of the bag. She said something openly which had only been hinted about in royal coverage: that King Charles is “currently less irritated” with Prince Harry than he is with Prince William. The irritation is with William’s nonexistent work ethic and paltry royal-engagement numbers. Interestingly enough, Brown’s comments have been cited far and wide in royal coverage in recent days. A lot of people have been dying to talk about the lazy heir, it seems. Well, someone (probably William himself) called on Richard Kay to do some damage control. It’s always funny to watch when Kay is dusted off – Kay was one of Diana’s favorites, but William calls on Kay to push back on some interesting stories (like the Rose Hanbury debacle). Some highlights from this Mail piece co-authored by Kay:

Kay forgets that Kate, by her own description, has been “cancer free” since September 2024: Perhaps unfairly, Ms Brown’s article failed to mention the cancer treatment which has sidelined the Princess of Wales for much of the past 18 months.

William & Kate’s work numbers: The Court Circular, which chronicles every official engagement the Royals undertake, gives us some data. It reveals that William, 43, worked a mere 107 days in the year to September 5. That compares poorly with other family members: Princess Anne, 75, fulfilled the most engagements, with 189 days, while the 76-year-old King, still receiving treatment for cancer, managed 175 days. These, then, are the numbers. But despite Ms Brown’s criticism they offer only a partial picture. For both the Prince and Princess spend time with charities and pursue other worthy interests not necessarily recorded.

The small-r royal: Willim is immersed in projects that go beyond the window-dressing of simply turning up. Take the Earthshot Prize, a high-profile environmental award his Royal Foundation oversees. The Prince’s involvement goes far beyond being a figurehead and handing out prizes. He is also involved in strategy and attends decision-taking meetings. The same is true of his commitment to eradicating homelessness. ‘His idea is about concentrating on fewer but more consequential issues and working behind the scenes,’ says a friend. ‘It is an approach he has long been keen to try and was something his mother was working towards just before her sad death.’

Won’t someone think of the school run?? What’s more, supporters say, the couple have a lifetime of engagements ahead of them and both the Royal Family and the country will benefit from them bringing up three well-adjusted children.

William donates to charity too! As for philanthropy, the Prince’s friends insist he is a generous donor to charities. ‘He just doesn’t do it with a press release,’ says one insider. By way of an example, we understand he made a substantial donation to the victims of the Grenfell fire tragedy.

Remember the 2017 ski trip? Criticism grew following Commonwealth Day in 2017, when William failed to join his family at Westminster Abbey and was instead snapped partying in a nightclub in the Alpine ski resort of Verbier. Shortly afterwards, his approval ratings dipped below Prince Harry’s. It was, perhaps, not entirely coincidental that William then announced he would be giving up his air ambulance job so he and Kate could throw themselves into full-time Royal duties. The couple then began spending most of their time at Kensington Palace, with George and later Charlotte attending St Thomas’s Day School in London.

Too lazy to go to a football match: Last August, William was criticised for refusing to fly to Australia to support the England women’s football team in the World Cup final, despite being FA patron.

William’s dull-and-dependable!! It was perhaps inevitable William would be compared unfavourably to his prodigal brother’s headline-grabbing whirlwind of visits this week. But as one ally points out: ‘The Windsors will be back on the road doing the same thing next week, the week after and the week after that. Where will Harry be?’ The danger for William – and indeed for the Royals – however, is that razzle-dazzle always wins over dull and dependable.

[From The Daily Mail]

It feels like Kay really ran out of steam by the end of this piece and even he had to admit that William’s pretty lazy. So, let’s talk about some of his points. One, Kate has been “sidelined” by cancer treatment for 18 months… she has not been treated for 18 months. By her own words, she’s been cancer free since the summer of 2024, and she announced that she was in remission in January. Does William need extensive time off all year because his wife is NOT being treated for cancer and hasn’t been for months? Two, the idea that all of William’s work is not recorded in the Court Circular. Trust me when I say it is, and the Court Circular’s numbers are constantly fudged to beef up W&K’s paltry numbers with sh-t like “attending a private meeting” or “taking a phone call.”

Three, “…concentrating on fewer but more consequential issues and working behind the scenes… It is an approach he has long been keen to try and was something his mother was working towards just before her sad death.” Diana only had a handful of patronages because the royals squeezed her out after her divorce. Diana’s more concentrated efforts were out of necessity, not because she thought of some cool new way to be a royal. Anyway, the whole piece is basically “William’s friends say he’s not lazy, here are some excuses why he’s so lazy, and here’s a brief history of all of the times when people justifiably called him lazy.”

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